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Eugenides (Thief of Eddis, King of Attolia)
Eugenides is the former Thief of Eddis, and the main character of the'' Queen's Thief'' series. He has very skilled thieving abilities, similar to the Eddisian deity of thieves - his patron god and name sake. Eugenides is now the king of Attolia, and husband of Attolia Irene. His nickname is Gen. Mrs. Turner has stated, upon several occasions, that Eugenides means "the well-born". Story Story 'Childhood and Early Years' Most details concerning Eugenide's childhood are unknown, though there are a few facts that the books mention. Eugendies was born in the mountain country of Eddis. As a young boy, Eugenides was known to go around causing mischief, frequently fighting with his multiple male cousins. The cousins were known to make Eugenides's life horrible at times, both arguing verbally and physically fighting with him. He frequently retreated to the library to nurse his wounds. One of the primary reasons for this teasing was his name and his grandfather's growing interest in him, as his maternal grandfather was the former Thief of Eddis. Because of his grandfather's interest, Eugenides traveled with him to various places that the Thief would need to be familiar with, including the royal Megaron of Attolia. It is here, which a relatively young boy, that he first sees the future queen of Attolia as she dances in the kitchen garden, under the orange trees. He continues to return secretly to Attolia to watch her, fascinated by her beauty and her loneliness. His mother, also a thief, falls off a roof and dies when Eugenides is relatively young. After this he gets into more and more fights with both his father (refusing to enter the Eddisian army, tearing up his enlistment papers and informing him that he intends to the Thief of Eddis) and his cousins, and Eddis eventually moves him into a separate room in the library. Eugenides soon develops a sense of scholarship not uncommon among the Thieves of Eddis, due to his extensive amount of time in the library, a habit that carries over into early adulthood. 'The Thief' At the beginning of the The Thief, Eugenides who is referred to as Gen, is in a Sounis prison and it is known he has been there for some time. Eugenides was incarcerated after stealing the King of Sounis's royal seal and then bragging to a guard about it in a wine shop. After some time the Magus of Sounis comes to Eugenides with a propisition:He will be set free if he can steal a certain artifact. The magus doesn't reveal any more details and asks Eugenides if he will take the deal. Eugenides agrees and is taken from the prison. The magus then gives Eugenides details about the deal in his office. Then he is taken out of the city and is soon met by Pol, a soldier, and Ambiades and Sophos, apprentices of the magus. They begin traveling and stop rarely often causing Eugenides to complain robustly. Throughout the journey the magus asks Eugenides about details of the Eddisan legends. Eugenides knows more about them then the average Eddisan do to his extensive reading, but despite this the magus scoffs the stories, despite being interested, as twisted village versions. Soon Eugenides learns that the magus wants him to steal the legendary Hamiathes's Gift. A small stone that protects the wearer from death and gives them the right to rule the country of Eddis. The magus wants it to give to his King so that Eddis will be forced to marry him. The union would double the size of Sounis and automatically give control of Eddis to Sounis. Eugenides appears unconcered by this revelation, saying that he doesn't mind. Eugenides doubts the stone's existence however but decides to see if he can steal it anyway. The magus leads the group through Eddis and across the Attolian dystopia, to a temple built into the bed of the Aracthus river; the temple is only accessible for a few days during the summer when Eddis closes the gates of the reservoir upriver. Eugenides enters and fails once. On the last try he manages to reach the area where the Gift is kept. In the room are life sized sculptures of the gods. Eugenides at once feels strange power from the room and when he is about to grab the gift the gods come to life and warn him. Eugenides doesn't turn around but hears the voice of his patron god The God of Thieves Eugenides, whom Eugenides the mortal is named after. After the gods return to statues Eugenides the hastily grabs the Gift and runs out he barely makes it out alive and when asked if he has the gift slowy and shakily pulls it out, much to the magus's delight. After this incident there is an obvious change in the magus's disposition towards Eugenides. The group is then attacked by an Attolian garrison, where in the struggle Eugenides apparently loses the Gift. Soon after they hear another garrison, this time with horses coming after them. Eugenides volunteers to try and slow them down and the others go to the top of cliff and watch as Eugenides turns an organized attack into a quagmire of madness. This time the magus doesn't miss Eugenides extraordinary skills with the sword. However Eugenides is outnumbered and is soon stabbed and falls unconsious. When he awakes he is in an Attolian prison with Sophos and the magus who soon explains that they were soon ambushed by another garrison. The magus said that then Ambiades begins to laugh and the other three realize that he had been with the Attolians the entire time. Pol in a fit of rage tackles Ambiades and both fall off the cliff to their deaths. The magus then apologizes to Eugenides saying that he'll do what he can to try and get Eugenides out of the mess. Gen is then met by the Queen of Attolia who offers to let him work for her. Eugenides then apologizes, refusing the offer with the famous reply that though Attolia is more beautiful Eddis is more kind. The three then manage to escape the prison and barely make it past the Eddis-Attolia border. They are then met by a group of Eddis soldiers that are conviently stationed at the border. When the time comes for the Queen of Eddis to meet the group of travelers that consist of a magus, a nephew of the king Sounis and a thief, Eugenides then reaches into the base of his braided hair and pulls out Hamiathes's Gift. He then reveals that he is The Queen's Thief. After which Eugenides is sent to the infirmary to recover and the magus and Sophos leave. Eddis then suggests that Gen write a book of his adventures on the journey for the Gift. Eugenides reflects on the events and reluctantly concurs. The product of which is The Thief. The Queen of Attolia The King of Attolia A Conspiracy of Kings Age Eugenides's age is never specified in the books, but based on a few facts his general age can be inferred. Eugendies was ten in the Thief! short-story printed in'' Disney Adventures'' magazine. In this story, Helen's brothers have just died; but her father is still alive, meaning Thief! takes place just a few short months before she becomes queen. It is specified in the Eddis short-story, published in The King of Attolia paperback, that Helen is five years older then Eugenides, (about fifteen years old in the story Thief!). That would make her fifteen or sixteen when she became queen. In The Queen of Attolia, it is mentioned that Helen has been queen for seven years. Therefore she is approximately twenty-two in the middle of The Queen of Attolia, and Eugenides is seventeen. The following ages can be approximated: The Thief: 15 The Queen of Attolia: 16 or 17 (beginning) - 17 or 18 (ending) The King of Attolia: 18 or 19 Abilities Eugenides' primary ability is his incredible intelligence, notably his excellent grasp of strategic planning. Throughout the series he plans and carries out plans that span months and rely on his continually acting a part. This is seen most notably in The Thief, in which he hides his Eddisian origin and his true skill level in order to steal Hamiathes' Gift for Eddis. He carries this still further in The King of Attolia in order to fool the Attolian Court into underestimating him, giving him the chance to destroy the House of Erondites, which is the greatest threat to the security of the Attolian throne. He is also a gifted people-reader, and though he didn't always pick his fights wisely in his youth, he matures over the series and grows significantly in his ability to manipulate those around him to further his plans, as well as in his ability to read situations and talk his way out of trouble. He is also considered to be something of a scholar, a rarity in Eddis (as noted in Book 2, The Queen of Attolia). Eugenides, despite his pacifistic nature, is also one of the most skilled swordsmen in the series. He was trained by his father, both during his childhood and again after his hand is cut off. In The Queen of Attolia his father notes that Eugenides could have been a truly great swordsman and soldier if he had wanted to, as he has the concentration for it. Until his looses his hand, however, he lacks the motivation to truly perfect the art. Once he has begun recovering, however, he takes up sword-fighting again, and continues this after he becomes the king of Attolia by practicing with the Eddisian ambassador to Attolia, Ornon. At the age of 15 he defeats multiple Attolian soldiers before being stabbed himself, and tt 18, once he is king of Attolia, he defeats Teleus, the captain of the Queen's Guard, two squad leaders (Costis and Aris), Aris' entire squad, and Laecdomon, a soldier who challenges him, despite being sleep-deprived and hungover. Most impressive, however, is that he performs this feat with one hand. Eugenides skills as a thief are, of course, pivotal to all four books. He can, as he claims in book 1, "steal anything." Along with this are practical skills such as a working knowledge of the architecture of the palaces of Sunis and Attolia, the ability to pick locks with either hand, and incredible agility, as he climbs walls and runs (and jumps) across rooftops. Famous Quotes Unless otherwise noted, all page numbers are from the Greenwillow paperback editions of the books. The Thief *"I can steal anything." p11 *(narration) "...with coaching he could probably chop up a straw man, but the younger one looked completely useless." p28 *(narration) "I could be a convenient sort of milemarker, I thought. Get to the thief and you know you are halfway to Methana." p30 *﻿"A cart - you know, a large wooden box on wheels, pulled by a horse." p50 *(narration) "It had been a profesional risk, but there was no point in saying so." p58 & 59 *"Do you mean," I squawked, "that we are out here in the dark looking for something from a fairy tale?" p71 *"Things," I hissed, "don't make noise." p209 *"They had a cart." p220 *"I think," I said stiffly, "that I am more of an asset than a liability." p237 *"Would you shut up?" p239 *"Stop biting your lip, and say it." p280 The Queen of Attolia *"What earrings?" p50 *"It's the queen's library. I just live here." p58 *"I ate the ceremonial bread in the temple." p80 *"I'll stop shouting. I won't sit down. I might need to throw more inkpots." p87 *"All right, what do you want a useless one-handed Thief for?" p88 *"You sound like the chorus in a play." p104 *"I can steal anything." Eugenides corrected. "Even with one hand." *"...I don't want the clouds to part and Moira to arrive on a band of sunlight to tell me to shut up..." p170 *"I love stupid plans." p219 *"Calf love doesn't usually survive amputation, Your Majesty." p248 *"Nothing is going to save my skin." p267 *"I sometimes believe his lies are the truth, but I have never mistaken his truth for a lie...." p342 *"Have I offended the gods?... and if I have offended the gods, then why didn't I fall?" p394 'The King of Attolia' *"Is this some Attolian ritual that I am unaware of? Was I supposed to defend myself?" p6 *"Lillies, I rule heads, you do." p74 *"You didn't startle me. You scared the hell out of me." p177 *"It is... too... deep!" p181 *"I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!" p250 *"Ornon says, Ornon-who-always-had-something-to-say says, the Thieves of Eddis don't have breaking points. We have flash points instead, like gunpowder. That's what makes us dangerous." p288 *"Give me back my wine." p339 *"...what may look completely stupid to you is merely a demonstration of my faith." p339 *"I am omniscient, I know everything." p341 *"If I tried now, I'd probably eviscerate myself when I landed." p343 *"Do you know, it's the first time I've been caught in something I can't get out of?" p344 *"I am beginning to sense a certain amoung of fraud in the reports of poets..." p346 *"No 'Glory will be your reward for me. Oh no, for me, it is, 'Stop Whining' and 'Go To Bed' ". p347 *"Safety is an illusion." p349 *"Don't...lower...the...point...in...third!" p358 *"You forgot that it's a wooden sword." p374 *"I want my breakfast." p374